This month in The NSW Doctor: response, recovery, and reflection on last summer's bushfires; O Week; an interview with our Registrar of the Year 2019; a profile of Dr Kenneth Chang; a guide for doctors-in-training on where to find help for a range of issues; mandatory reporting obligations; and more.
PRESIDENT'S WORD Compounding Disasters Drought, bushfires, coronavirus – while medical professionals have gone above and beyond during these crises, it’s important to mind your own mental health. If bad things come in threes, then perhaps NSW is due for a reprieve. With no substantial rain since mid-2017, NSW was already in a state of major [...]
FROM THE CEO A Turbulent Start to 2020 While the immediate bushfire crisis appears to have passed, there is ongoing need in communities that were affected. AMA (NSW), along with other stakeholders, is working on the medium and long-term response. The first few months of 2020 have been overwhelming for health providers, particularly the devastating [...]
FEATURE O Week Across NSW, 1027 interns started their professional careers in January – an increase of 257 positions or 33% since 2011. the number of interns in NSW hit 1027 this year. This is a slight increase over last year and in line with the upward trajectory we’ve seen over the last decade. The [...]
DIT Diary DIT Diary Dr Wenjie Zhong, who took home Registrar of the Year from the 2019 DIT Awards, shares suggestions on how to achieve your career goals and that elusive work-life balance. I have aspired to be a surgeon ever since I was a medical student, and I am very proud to be urology [...]
FEATURE Bushfire Recovery Healthcare organisations and stakeholders have been working together to decrease the impact of the 2019/2020 bushfires on the delivery of healthcare across NSW. In the immediate aftermath of a bushfire, the State Government starts recovery operations. Following the disastrous NYE bushfires, for example, the Ministry launched its emergency response via the Health [...]
PROFILE Dr Penny Burns “It’s really important there’s an assessment of what’s needed, and the right supplies and the right people are sent to the right place at the right time.” Disaster Medicine Specialist and general practitioner, Dr Penny Burns has championed the role of general practitioners in disaster response for close to a decade [...]
FEATURE Dr James Langley - Surviving the NYE Fires Surf Beach Surgery general practitioner, Dr James Langley, recounts his experience over New Year’s Eve and the subsequent impact of the bushfires on healthcare delivery in the area. Late last year, Dr James Langley recalls walking around his rural property on the South Coast and remarking [...]
FEATURE Fences to Build Batemans Bay general practitioner, Dr David Rivett OAM, takes a philosophical approach to the recent bushfires that swept through the South Coast of NSW. Adrenaline does not last forever. By late January 2020, Dr David Rivett had faced down the immediate threat of bushfires to his home four times. He says [...]
FROM THE CEO No Way Out With the airfield closed and roads blocked, patients at Manning Rural Referral Hospital were marooned during the November bushfires. Dr Seshasayee Narasimhan explains how health professionals managed the crisis. By late November 2019, approximately 1,650,000 hectares of land in NSW had been burnt – more than during the past [...]
PROFILE A GP For Life As a GP for more than five decades on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Dr Kenneth Chang is an entrenched part of the community and his patients’ lives. Despite retiring three years ago, Dr Kenneth Chang still dreams he’s at work. And in many ways, he still is. The former Balgowlah GP [...]
WORKPLACE RELATIONS Finding Help Doctors-in-training regularly move between departments and hospitals, which can make it difficult to know where to go for help. Here’s your guide to finding resources inside and outside the hospital. Inside the Hospital Medical Workforce Unit The Medical Workforce Unit can provide you with support for all workplace and administrative functions, [...]
WORKPLACE RELATIONS Mandatory Reporting Obligations Changes to mandatory reporting obligations come into effect in March. Here’s what you need to know… Medical practitioners are obliged to make mandatory notifications under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law 2009 (NSW) (National Law) about medical practitioners and other registered health professionals when their health, conduct or performance poses [...]
CAREERS SERVICE Pathways through Medicine The NSW Doctor is showcasing the unique stories of doctors who have successfully used Careers Service to further their ambitions. i am a critical care SRMO at St George hospital, and have an enthusiasm for learning, curiosity about people, and ability to create supportive and safe workplaces. I first worked [...]
NEWS Healthy places, bodies, minds and culture Communication was a core component of the Northern Sydney Local Health District’s JMO Wellbeing Forum, held 29 January. Facilitated by Julie McCrossin AM, journalist and broadcaster, the forum emphasised ‘Healthy Places, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds and Healthy Culture.’ Around 60 junior and senior doctors gathered to discuss, celebrate [...]
FROM THE CEO Australia Day Honours Congratulations AMA (NSW) would like to extend congratulations to our outstanding members who achieved Australia Day Honours. Officer (AO) in the General Division Professor Peter Joseph McClusky Homebush NSW 2140 For distinguished service to ophthalmology, and to medical education, to eye health organisations, and to the community. Ms Anne [...]
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